AP- What Happened to Missing Iraq Explosives [View All]

[maddezmom]

By CHRISTOPHER CHESTER, Associated Press Writer

The disappearance of nearly 400 tons of powerful explosives from a former Iraqi military installation has become a heated issue in the presidential campaign and has led to criticism and confusion over when and how the materials vanished, what more U.S. troops could have done to protect them from theft and who, if anyone, is to blame.



Here are some questions and answers about what we do know at this point, and what remains unknown or in dispute:


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Q. Why was the U.N. nuclear agency involved in monitoring explosives at the Al-Qaqaa site?


A. Although the missing materials are conventional explosives known as HMX and RDX, HMX is a "dual use" substance powerful enough to ignite the fissile material in an atomic bomb and set off a nuclear chain reaction. They are referred to as "high explosive material," or "high explosives."


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much more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=5&u=/ap/20041027/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons_q_a